Cartridge-loading machine



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

N. HARRISON.

CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE. No. 365,919. Patented July 5, 1

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WITNESSES: l?" m I INVENTORI ATTOHN EY,

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

N. HARRISON.

CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE.

No. 365,919. Patented July 5,1887.

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4 `,Sheets-Sheet; 3.

(No Model.)

N. H.l.\RRISO1\I.

GARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE.

eNo. 365,919. Patented July 5, 188'?.

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LW 94mm?? (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

N. HARRISON.

CARTRIDGE LOADING MACHINE.

No. 365,919. A Patented July 5, 1887.

WITNESSES: i INVENTUR @47m 4a, @//fa 0&7 Ira/Lg ymm LLMMTTUHNEYf UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHAN HARRISON, OF MONTCLAR, NEW JERSEY.

cARTmoeE-LOADING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,919l dated July 5, 1887.

Application lcd August 3l. 1886. Serial No. 212.2116. (No model.)

To ali whom, it may concern:

Beit known that l, NATHAN HAREIsoN, of Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Cartridge-Loading Machine; andI do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear,

and exact descriptionof my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention relates to a machine for charging t-he cartridge shells with powder, shot, and the required wads, which may be done after the necessary primers have been inserted therein; and its object is alight, simple,and cheap machine capable of performing quickly and exactly the required purposes by the exercise of but little power.

It consists, essentially, of suitable magazines for the powder and the shot chargers, which are capable of being adjusted to varying capacities to receive, convey, and discharge the same into theshells, tubes for the wads, means to discharge the wads upon the powder andv upon the shot in the shells, suitable plungers to press the wads home in the shells, and supports toretain the shells in position, the operating devices being arranged to perform their functions so that the different acts will take place suecessivelyin due order. and a cartridgeshell be suitably charged with powder and onewith shot upon 'a charge of powder at each operation of the machine after the work has been commenced.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation ofthe machine, the lever raised to its utmost capacity, the chargers brought forward to the position of discharging their contents into the shells. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the center of the plungers, wad-tubes, and shells, showing the powder in Y one, the powder, powder-wads, and shot in the other, and the necessary wadsmoved` forward to their position over the shells, with the plungeis above them ready to drive them homeby the further downward movement of the lever, the lever having been brought down only partially. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the machine, as indicated by the line a: a: of Fig. 2, the rods e f, arm W, the pull M5, toggle j, and spring k bein shown in the foreground. Figs. 4 to 7 are etail views of different parts. f

Similar letters of reference indicate like part-s in all the drawings.

A is a suitable base, upon which the parts are mounted; B, a frame for supporting the different parts; C. a standard for the lever, to which the lever D, for operating the mechanism, is pivotally connected. Asuitablc crosspiece, E, rests upon or. is made a' part of the frame B, and upon this cross-piece E an arched support, F, is secured, from which project arms G G to the rear, which support a cross-piece, H, upon which the powder and shot magazines are supported, and to the under side of which the charging apparatus is secured. The base A, frame B, standard C, cross-piece'E, parts F, G G, and H may be made separately, or all of them, or some of them, cast as a single piece, whichever may be the most convenient in the manufacture of my machine.

Upon the cross-piece H are disposed the powder-magazine I and shot-magazine J. These may be cylindrical vessels provided with suitable feeding-tubes to feed their contents into the chargers, the tube for the shot-magazine being shown at J2 in the broken-away part, Fig. 3, a similar 'tube for the powdermagazine being at a corresponding part of the same. The contents of the magazines are permitted to flow freely through these feedingtubes. For convenience, the lower portions of the magazines I J are made conical, having an opening at their lowest part, which is closed by asuitable cork or stopper, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 and shown at J, Fig. 3, through which openings their contents may be conveniently withdrawn, when desired.

The charging device consists of a slideway, K,(shown in section in Fig. 3,) which is secured to the lower face of the cross-piece H in any convenient manner, andis open at both ends, but inclosed on the sides, the bottom at the front being provided with dischargechutes K K2, which are situated in suitable positions to guide the powder and the shot into the feeders L' L", as shown clearly in Fig. 2. Within the slideway K, and moving snugly therein backward and forward, is disposed a suitable charging-box, which is shown in plan in Fig. 4 and in section in Fig. 3. This consists of a box made of brass or other soft metal, having a top, -M, bottoni M', front M2, sides M, and

divided centrally by apartition, M, and having openings passing through the top and bottom opposite each other, as shown at N L, into which the magazines discharge through their feeding-tubes J" and the corresponding feeding-tube of the powder-magazine I, when the charging-box is drawn back and the open Y ings N' and N are in line with these feedingtubes. Across the back of the charging-bor ro issecured a strip, G.

Within each compartment of the chargingbox is arranged a graduating device, which consists of a strip of metal, P' I, of the width of the compartment, so as to move snugly therein, which strip of metal P' and P has a portion that lies on thebottom M'of the charging-box, then a portion turned up vertically at right angles, and then a portion bent back again parallel to the top M of the chargingbox. the backs of the openings N and N are in closed, these openings N and N, forming the chargers or parts of the machine which regulate the amount of powder and of shot to be loaded into the shells and carry the same to and.discharge into the chutes K K. Setscrews R' R2 are journaled to the vertil portions of the stripsP P, which screws are threaded to the cross-piece 0, so that by turn- 3o ing these screws the pieces P P may be projected or retractechand thereby the capacity of the chargers N' N may be regulated and increased or diminished. 0u the face of the rear part of the strips P' P' a graduating-scale 3 5 may be marked o, as shown in Fig. 4, to indicate the capacity of the chargers the same are increased or diminished. To the front of the charging-bora pnll, M5, is pivotally connected,by which thesame is moved backward 4o and forward, as will behereinafter described.

' A pin or screw, n, is placed in the rear of the charging-box, to limit its backward movement, as shown in Fig. 3.

Having described the magazines for the powder and the shot and the means for feeding, I

will now describe the arrangement for packing the same into the shells. On the bottom ofthe base A a suitable groove, a, Fig. 3, is provided to receive the nipple of the primer 5o of the shell ifthe same projects beyond its face, and a groove, a', is made at thebase of the frame B for therim of the shell. To the face of the frame B are attached projections b b in .such positions that the shells' are supported thereby on their sides directly beneath the feed-mouths L' L', as shown in Fig. 2, and in front of the shells is provided aspring-apron, b', which presses against the shells from the front and holds them securely in position 6o against the face of the frame B between the projections b b. In the cross-piece E are inserted the feed-mouths L L, which may-be made together in pairs of varying sizes to suit the dierent-sized shells to be filled, and thesey 6 5 feed-months are inserted into the cross-piece E in a suitable recess made therein and securely attached thereto, as by being screwed into By the vertical part of these strips place.` The disposition of the shells by means of the projections b b and spring-apron b' is to be such that they will be directly Abeneath 7o their feed-months. In the arched erom-piece F, and in line with the feed-mouths L L, are provided guides or sleeves'l'f' T',in which move the plnngers U' U", so that when they are projected downward they will pass through the mouths L L and into the shells S S. These plungcrs are threaded to receive screw-rods u' s, by means of which their projection may'be regulated. y The plunger guides or sleeves T' '1" may he -adjusted to plungers of varying 80 sizes, if desired, bysuitable bushings. In the arched cross-piece F, and on each side of the plungersleeves T' T', are provided sleeves Y Y', which may be suitable holes formed in the arched cross-piece F, and in these sleeves are inserted the wad-tubes V V', which are open in front, being simply sheets of suitable metal curved to the proper size. By leaving them open in front they can be tightly inserted in the sleeves Y Y, having a spring-like action to retain their position in place, and having a slightly larger outside diameter than the sleeves Y Y, so that they are forced into the sleeves and maybe moved up and down therein to the position that their lower edges will be of the proper height above the face of theerors` piece E to correspond to the thiekuem of the wads, as it is evident that if they project too far downward they will notpermit the passage V of the wads sidewise under them, while if they 10d do pot project downward far enough they will permit the e sidewise of too many wads. The open front also" permits the operator to see the supply of wads in them, so that when n it may be renewed. The size of x03 the wad-tubes maybe graduated by suitable bushings placed in the sleeves Y' Y', or by making the tubes themselves of thicker or thinner material, as may be most convenient. The plunger-rods a u are pivotally attached to a walking-beam, P, which in turn is pivoted to an arm, B, and that is pivoted to the lever D, The walking-beam P is 'pivoted to the part R out of its center and near the plunger U', in order to exert most of the power of the lever on that plunger and drive it down with force onto the powder-walls, less force being desired for the sh'ot-wads. Projecting forward from the walking-beam is an arm, W, Fig. 3, by which theeharger-box and the wad-feeders are operated. As already described, the crosspieee E is provided with feeding-mouths L'L, and these flare slightly at their upper parts, to receive the wads, which are generally a little larger than the shells iu order to fit tightly x z3 therein. The arched cross-piece F is provided at its lower ends with laterally-projecting feet, which rest upon 'the crow-piece E and are screwed thereto. These feet are out beneath, to receive the wad-slides C C', which move in such These wadslides terminate in gripping-springs c c, which are ofthe requisite height to embrace their wads, the powderwad springs being'of nearly the height joints g g, and thereby, and against the'action of two powder-wads, as two powder-wads are generally used, andthe shot-wad spri-ngs being of nearly the height of one shot-wad, as only one shot-wad is generally used. In using the machine the wads rest npon the top of the slides C C2 until these slides are moved outward laterally, when they fall down into the gripping-springs c c, and as the wad-slides'are moved inwardly toward the feed-mouths L L the gripping-springs are forced between the projections d d2 ou the cross-piece E, (shown clearly in Fig. 5,) which compress them to hold the wads suspended over the feed-mouths when they reach that position.

The wadslides are operated by the following mechanism: Into a holein the arm W asliding rod, e, Fig. 3, isadjusted. -This sliding rod moves freely np and down,its downward movement, however, being limited by the nut c', which is screwed thereon,and which rests upon the top of the arm W.- This rod e is connected to the-wad slides by means of aset of joints, g, g2, and g3, pivoted to a cross-piece, i, on the lower part of the rode, the joints g2 beingalso pivotall y secured at g' to the cross-piece F, or a corresponding stationary portion of the structure, in such a manner that when the rod e is raised the operation of these joints will be to force outward the wad-slides Gand G2. At-

tached to the front of the cross-piece E andv tothe end of the wad-slides C C2 are spiral springs h h2, of suthcient power to draw the wad-slides inward when free toact.

The operation cf the wad-slides is as follows: When the lever D is raised, the rod eis raised with it, being supported on the upper face of the arm W by the nut e', drawing up the upper joints, g g, and forcing outward the toggleof the spirals h h2, forcing outward the wadslides C' C2 until they have passed beyond the wad-tubes V V". When they have moved to that point, the wads drop down onto the face of the cross-piece E within the spring-grippers c c. As the level D is then brought down, the springs h h2 draw the wad-slides C Ciinward, and the wads are moved toward the mouths L Ll until the spring-grippers strike'against thc bearings d' d2, by which they are compressed and grasp the wads sufficiently tosupport them over the mouths L' L2, so that they will be driven down evenly by the plungers U U.

For operating the chargera rod, f, is inserted in the arm W, being supported on its upper face by the screw-nut f. In suitable lugs, i', projecting from the front kof the arched cross-piece F, a toggle-joint, j, is pivoted, one arm of which is pivoted to the lower end of the rod f, and the other arm is pivoted to the charging box-pull To one arm of the toggle-jointj a tension-spring, k, is attached, the other end of which is secured to the base A. This spring is of sufficient power, when free to act, to draw down the toggle-joint j and force back the charging-box. The operation of this portion of the machine is as follows: When the lever D is raised, the rod f is drawn up with it, being supported on-the'upper face of the arm W bythe nut f', drawing forward the charging-box until it is in position to discharge its contents into the chutes K K2, as indicated in Fig. 3. As the lever D is brought down, the spring k draws down the toggle-joint to which it is attached, thereby forcing back the charging-box toits position under the magazines. It will be seen that the upward scope of motion -ofthe charger-rodf and the wad-slide rod e is adjustable by means of the screw-nuts c' f.

` The operation of the machine is as follows: The chargers areto be regulated to the dcsired capacity by means of the screws It R2. This is conveniently done by means of the graduating-marks on the slide strips 1" P while the' charging-box is inpositionin'the slideway K; or, if desired, the pin o'rscrew connecting the pull M5 to the toggle j' may be withdrawn, and the screw n also taken out, whenthe charging box may be taken out of the slideway K K, and, after adjusting it, rplaced therein and attached to the toggle. Then the shot and .powder magazines IaJ are to be filled, which will fill the chargers. also. The proper wads are placed in the wad-tubes V V, and empty shells are pushed behind the spring-apron b by hand, so that they restvbetween the projections b b and under the feedmouths L L2. The 'lever D is then raised, which will draw forward the charging-box, causing the contents to How down the chutes K K2 and into the shells through the months L L2. As the charging-box is moved forward, its top M, moving along under the to of the slideway K, cuts off the openings'J" in the magazine feeding-tubes, so that no more of the` contents of the magazines can escape. As the lever D is drawn up, it forces outward the wad slides C' C?, which receive their wads,.as

already described. The shell S2 should then b e removed, as it will contain a charge of shot only, which may be poured back into the shotmagazine J. 'Ihe lever D is then forced downward, the effect of which is, first, to bring forward wad-slides C C2 with their wads until they reach their appropriate positions'over the feed-months L L2, (the charging-box being at the same time forced back to the position where the magazines will again supply the chargers,) and, secondly, when the wads are in the appropriate positions, the plungers U U2 will 'reach them and, as the lever D proceeds in its downward course, will force the wads downward. The shell S will then be charged with powder and powder-wads. It is then "moved to the right, to the position at first occupied by the shell S2, and an empty shell is placed in the left-hand position. Then the operation is repeated, resulting in a. full-charged shell on t-he right and a powder-charged shell on the left. The operation-bei ng continued at each downward movement of the plungers,the shell on the right will b e fnlly charged, the one on the left charged with powder and powder-wads only.

' In. feeding` the shells it is only necessary-to place a shell in apcrpendieular positionto the left of and behind the spring-apron b', and push it to the right with the hand, thespringapron b being made sufficiently elasticto allow the shells to pass by the projections b b in moving them alongf from left to right, and su liicientl y stift' to. sustain the shells in therequired positions under the feed -mouths L L2. When it is desired to load shells so short that the charges may not enter the shells properly, a plate, m, to raise the shells (shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3) may be secured to the base A, beneath the feed-mouths L L2. Such plate is to be provided with a groove similar to the groove a, for theprimer, and a. groove, a', should be made at the proper part of the support B, for the'rim of the shells, as iudicated in Fig. 3.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 1. 'A cartridge-loading machine arranged to load one shell with powder and one shell with shot upon powdersimultaneouslyand provided with magazinesIJ ,provided with feeding-tubes J', a suitable charging-box disposed beneath said tubes and adapted to convey the charges from the magazines to the shells, .wad-tubes V Y, arranged above the cross-piece E, to discharge the wads thereon, slides C C, operating upon the cross-piece E and adapted to forward the wads from the tubesand support them above the shells, plungers U U, disposed above the shells and adapted to force the wads into the shells, suitable supports for the shells to sustain them in position beneath the plungers, and a lever, D, pivotally supported above the plungers and carrying the beam P, rod f, and joint j,

pivotally connected, the rod e, and joints g, g", and g3, pi votall y connected to each other and to the slides C C, and the springs h', h2, and k, all adapted to operate substantially as described and shown.

2. Ina cartridge-loading machine arranged to chargetwo shells simultaneously, supports for the shells adapted to retain them in position beneath the plungers U Uz while being charged, the magazines I J, disposed above the shells, a suitable charging-box adapted to receive the charges from the magazines and convey them to the shells, wadtubes V' V2, arranged to discharge the wads upon suitable ways above the shells, slides C'C, adapted to forward the wads upon said ways to the shells, and pluugers U U, arranged in suitable sleeves above the shellsand adapted to force the wads into the shells, in combination with suitable mechanism to operate the same, substantially as described and shown.

- 3. In 'a cartridgeloading machine, the magazines I J, provided near theirlowcr ends with feeding-tubes J2, in combinationwith a charging-box operating beneath said feeding-tubes and divided into compartments, and having the graduating-strips p p, adapted to receive a charge of powder in one compartment and a charge of shot in the other compartment and forward thc same to the shells disposed beneath said charging-box, in combination with a suitable device to reciprocate the charging-box, substantially as-described and shown.

4. In a cartridgeloading machine, the plungers U U, supported above the shells and connected to the walking-beam P pivotally, to adjust them to the varying planes of the fully and partially charged shells, and the lever D, pivotally connected to the walkingbeam P, in combination with the sleeves TT, adapted to guide the plungcrs, and a support for the lever D, substantially as described and shown.

5. 'In a cartridge-loading machine, a suitable base, A,'adapted to support the operating parts, projections b b on the' frame B above the base, aud spring-apron'b on the crosspiece E, forward of the frame B, adaptedrto support two shells in position on the base beneath the charging mechanism,in combination with suitable devices adapted to charge the shells simultaneously, substantially as .described and shown.

6. fIn a cartridge-loading machine arranged to charge twoshells simultaneously, the wadtubes V V",' adapted to discharge separately powderfwads and shot-wads upon a suitable' way by the side of and above the shells, in ,combination with the slides C C, adapted to forward the wads along such 'way from the wad-tubes to and support them above the shells, substantially as described and shown.

7.. In a cartridge'loading machine arranged to charge two shells simultaneously, the slides C' C?, operating on the ways EE, and adapted to forward the wads from the wad-tnbesto the shells, provided with grippers c c, and suita- If O ble projections, d'dz, in the path of said gripl v pers for compressing the same as they reach the mouths of the shells, in combination with the joints g, g, and g, the rod e, connected to the arm W -aud lever D, and operating to move the slides in one direction, and suitable springs, h h, attached to the outer ends of said slides and to a stationary portion of the structure, and operating to move them in the opposite direction along said ways E E, substantiall y as described and shown.

8. In a cartridge-loading machine such asv described, a suitable charging-box disposed beneath the magazines and adapted to receive a charge of shot and a charge of powder in separate compartments from the magazines and discharge into the shells beneath the charging-box, and provided with a pull, M5, in combination with the toggle-joint j, rod f, and a leveradapted to move such box from the magazines to the shells, and a suitable spring, lc, connected with said box-to move the IIO same in the opposite direction, substantially as described and shown.

9. In a cartridge-loading machine adapted to charge two shells simultaneously, the plungers U U2 and guides T '.l", arranged above the shell-supports, in combination with the walking-beam P, arranged above and pivotal] y connected to such plungers and adapted 'to adjust the same'automatically to the diierent levels of the charges in the shells, and the lever D, disposed above and pivotally connected to the walkingsbeam, substantially' as described and shown.

10. A eartridgeloading machine arranged to charge two shells simultaneously, as described, having suitable magazines above the shells for shot and for powder and for shot and powder wads, and suitable devices for forwarding the same from the magazines to the shells, and suitable supports beneath such forwarding devices to retain the shells in posi- NATHAN HARRISON.

Witnesses:

`EDGAR STANTON MACLAY,

NELSON ZABRISKIE. 

